Design-weaving attachment for looms



.July l, 1930.` R. G. CLARK DESIGN VI'EWINGv ATTACHMENT FOR LOOMS Filedwrarclimls. 1928 4 Sheets-$heet Juy 1930a DESIGN WEVING ATTACHMENT FORLOOWS Filed March 19, 1928 4 SheaeiswSheet y 2 www2 July l, 1930- R. G.CLARK $13,053

DESIGN WEAVING lATSFAGI'IMEN' FOR LOOMS Filed March 1,9, 1828 4Sheets-Sheet 4 tached thereto,

o 445 cani,` and cam rollers; j

Patented July 1, 1930 UNITEDSTATS ROBEBTG. CLARK, `or BROOKLYN, New YoanDESIGN-WEAVING ATTACHMENT non Looms Application led March 19, 1928.Serial No. 262,719.

My invention relates to devices for design Weaving and has for its mainobjects to provide a device by means kof which design weaving may beLdone ata greatly increased 'rate of speed and with ay minimumexpenditure of time and labor in setting upor` making ready the loom. v

Another object is to provide a device on which inexpensive patterns,enlarged duplicates of the designs to be 'woven and thus easy to make,may be used for transferring the designs to the fabric, and lon' whichlthe design weaving may be started and stopped, while the loom is inoperation, soas to inter- 1'5 weave plain fabric. A further object is toprovide a device of simple and inexpensive construction, vautomatic ini`operation and requiringbut slight skill and'attention on the partofV theoperator. p ,f i K I These and various other objects and advantages willbe clearly understood from the followingV description and 'from theaccomff' panying drawingsof preferred;` embodiments, but it will bereadily seen that certain modifications might be niade withoutAdeparting from the scope of the invention; In the drawings, l I 'v lFig. 1 is a front'elev'ati'on' of a `circnlar loom, drawn partly incross-section and showing the''design-weavingl` attachment at- Fig. 2,is a fragmentary, cross-sectional elevation showin'gfparts of'b'oth theloom and the attachment, -I 'n Fig. 3 `is a side elevation of amodifican tion offtheattachment shovvnavithfparts of thefloomincrossv-se'ction, Fig.Y 4 is afrontelevation'of Fig. 3, Figs. 5 and 6are, fragments` of certain parts of the loom',

Figs. 7 and 8 arediagrains illustratingfthe arrangement ofthe patternonth, design rollers, andk ,i

Figs. V9 vand 11,0 are diagramsvof a certain.

' The loom` on which tliefdesigi-weaving attachment `is "employed wil-lfiirst-fbe d escribed 'in a general way. kThis loom is shown., anddescribed vin detail in my f. eo*

pending" applicationSerialNo. 262,161" Itk isdistinctly understood,however, that this particular loom has been illustrated only tofacilitate the description of theattac'hinent and thatlit is 'not theintention to limit Vthe use of the invention to such looms, but that Iintend to employ it on any type of looms on which it may be used toadvantage. i

The loom illustrated is a circular loom having a-plurality of warpthread bobbins 10 attached close tothe periphery `of a circularv table11.` The warp threads 12 are 'engaged by the heddles 13 and 13a whichlift and lower alternate threads so that the `iievolving shuttles v14g,which carrythe weft thread bobbi'ns 15, may pass between these threads.i The heddles are actuated by the K cams 16 and 17 which are annularanden-A tend around thefperiphery ofthe discwh'eel 18 which rotatesonthe'stationary shaft 19; These camsv have wavy cam faces whichkpinions 21 to' which motion is impartedl by they spiral crown gear 22rotatinglyinounted on the stationary shaft 19, are provided. with aprons23 Aand ribs 24, 25, 26, 2'7'ja'n`d 23 they pass between them. Theweft-threads 29, which are laid between the warp'threads by theshuttles, are pressedV into place by the Vcam-zftctuated 'ngers 30 whichalso feed the wovenfabric 31 up through a circular throatl 32. Thefabric, which when hinished'` isl tubular,` is wound on the roller 'Thetable `11, the frame 34 and the shaft 35 are all supported byV aplurality of upright postsy 36.* This will suffice forthedescription-(of,V the looingythe `design-,weaving attachiiient now beexplained in detail. Y i Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, a frame V37is vsupported on ,the posts 36 some distancebelow the'ftablelliTovthis'frame is v secured .a'pluralityv4 of bearings38 on which vcausethe upv and down movements of 'the rwhich further separate the warpthreads as eef the frames 39 are hinged. The patternV drums 40 ofwhichfour are "shown in Fig.rv V 1, rotate'in bearings elformed on top of theframes 39. Each frame Vis provided with a w n cross bar 42 on top ofwhich a` camroller ya ratchet wheel 48.

43 is mounted. All of these cam rollers are engaged against a cam ring44, secured on a disc 45'which is rotatingly mounted on the stationaryshaft 19. The cam rollers are held in engagement withV the cam ring bytension springs 46, secured as shown. The disc 45 is provided with anoperating handle 47 and the face of the cam ring 44 is so designed thata slight rotating movement will force the cam rollers outward and thusthe drums 40. In some cases the cam ring is so constructed that themovement of the handle 47 in one direction will disengage certain drumsand a movement in the opposite direction will disengage certain otherdrums. The operation of these cams and cam rollers will be readilyunderstood by referring to Figs. 9 and 10; in Fig. 9 it will be seenthat a movement of the cam ring 44 in either direction will force thecam rollers 43 outward. In Fig. 10 it will be seen that, cam faces areonly provided between every other cam roller, a movement of the cam ringin one direction will force half ofthe rollers outward, and a movementin the opposite direction will force the balance of the rollers outward.The cam faces are indi-V cated by the numerals 44n and 44". As the camrings are interchangeable various other arrangements of cam faces may beemployed.

he pattern drums are each provided with These ratchet wheels have beenomitted on the three drums shown on the rigljit-hand side of Fig. 1,"butone is plainly shown on the drum on 'the left-Y hand side. 'The ratchetwheels are rotated by pawls 49 which are attached to rocher 'arms 50,pivoted in bearings 51 which are cast integral with'the circular castingA cam-engaging rodv 52:3 is attached to the other end ofthe rocker armand is guided in a holeV drilled in the casting 52.

VVThe 'rods 53 all engage on the annular camVv 55, the face of which iswavyfso as to impart a rocking motion to the arms 50 as the disc wheel1S, on which itis attached', rotates. The motion of the rocher armscauses the pawls 49 to rotate the ratchet wl'ieels and consequently thedrums. Tension springs 56 hold the rods 53 in Vengagement with the cam55, while pawls 57 prevent the drums from overrotating. The pawls 57 areadjustable'by means of screws 58' and are held in engagement by tensionsprings 5,9.,

Thehedd'les 13 and 1S, which areV bifurcated at' their upper ends toaccommodate the warp'threads as shown in Fig. 5,1are

guidedj by .two annular, slotted, spacers' 60v and 61, one of which isattached to the table 11 andV one to the casting-'59% The lower ends ofthe heddles are formed with nar-v rowedportions 62 and 62a which engage,respectively, on the cams 16andV 17. As already stated, the facesVojf'itheac camsV are wavy and impart an up and down movement to theheddles, in such a manner, that all the heddles are alternately up ordown, prior to the passing of the shuttles.

A latch 63 prevents the heddles from falling off the cams when in thebottom of a wave, as would otherwise be the case. This latch, of whichthere is one for each heddle, normally engages in a notch 64 which isformed in the heddle. lVhen so engaged displacement of the heddle fromthe cam is impossible. Above the notch 64, a clearance space 65 isprovided and if the latch is lifted so as to enter this clearance space,as shown by the dotted lines 66, the heddle will be displaced from thecam face, as shown by the dotted position 67. The latches, whichnormally lift and fall with the heddles, are provided with a feeler 68at their lower ends and they are rockingly suspended in a slotted,annular spacer 69 whichv is secured to the casting 52.

If a raised pattern 7 O, such for example asshown on one of the drums inFig. 1, is placed on oney or more of the drums, the feeler 68, as it isliftedfrom the face of the drum by the pattern, releases the latch63ffrom the notch 64 and causes the heddle to drop from the cam face.VThis causes the Warp thread in the particular heddle or heddles sodisplacedv to be lowered so that the shuttle may pass over such threador threads. vThis transfers the design tothe Woven Vfabric asshown at71. lThe heddles are restored to the cam faces by guides 72 which areriveted on theouter side of the caml6., As thefdrums are further removedfrom the center of the yloom than the woven fabric, the( patterns can bemade several times larger than the design woven. This is plainlyshownin" Fig. 1. l

t is evident that any design may thus be transferred from: the patterndrums to the fabric. -If it is desired to lweave a design of greaterlength than can be accommodated en the drum itself, an endless belt 7 3is em ployed. Y This arrangement is shown, in Fig. l. The belt, to whichthe pattern ,is attached, passes over lthe drum 40, over an idler' 74supported on lan arm 7 5, and over a pulley 76 which is supported on--aswinging arm 77. It will be seen that by operating the handle 47, theweaving ofthe design may be stopped at any time and that, 'while sostopped, theloom will kweave plain fabric. Fig.-6 shows the threadspacing ring` 78 which is placed below the points 'of the needles landprovided with easily threaded ynotches 79.

The 'drums so' 'far described, when sul plied with patterns, willrtransfer' a plurality of designs lengthwise of the tubular fabric woven.Vllhen it is i desired to transfer a continuous;V design around thevfabric the modification shownlin Figs. 3, 4, 7 and 8 is employed.explained. l

, The looinis the same as previouslyrde scribed and the heddles `areactuated as beifore. Tlie pattern drums 80Which in this case varerathernarrovv, are mounted on bearings 81 Which in turn areslidablyjmounte'd on brackets-82 secured to the frame 37 of the leom. lThe ratchet 83 is placed on the drinn This modification Will new beshaft 84 and correctly aligned vviththe drum the paWls 92 Which areattached to a rocher arm 93 Which in tuin is pivoted on the,

bracliet 94. The other end of the rocker arm is actuated by a ring cam95 which has a wavy groove .96. Drums of various sizes may be used bysliding the bracket 81 in the slot 97.

Fig. 7 shows hovv the drums are aligned by placing them on a centershaft 98 and an aligning` pin 997 Whilerthe patterns 100 are attached.Fig. 8 shows honT the drums are spaced around the circular loom; theOtlsetting of .the feelers Ymaking` this possible.

Havingthus described my invention, what l claim as new and Wish toprotect by Letters vPatent is tive cam, rWhile the teelers are actuatedbyV the patterns;` and means for rotatingv said drum in timed relationtol the loom.

2. ln combination with a circular loom having independent cam-operated'reciproe eating` heddles each of which engages 'a Warp thread; apluralityot drums; patterns attached on said drums; a plurality ot drum-Yengaging feelers; equal to the number et WarpV threads employed 0ntheleom, actuated said patterns ;V meansassociated With said veelers andsaid heddles torypreventing reeiprocatien 0i one or more of said'heddles,

by'displacing it or them from its er their respective cam, vvhile thefeelers are actu-y ated 'by thepatterns; means for rotating said drumsin timed relation to the loom;

and means for disengagingone or merecrn `the drums at a time from said'ieelersfp V3.1ncembination with a circular loom havingv independentcam-operated reciproeating heddles each of which engages a Warp thread;a plurality of drums; patterns attached on said drums; a plurality ot`drumengaging ieelers, equal to the number ot Warp threads employedongthe leem, actu ated by said patterns; means associated with saideelers and said heddles for preventing reciprecation ot one or moreof.said heddles,

by displacing` it or them from its or their yrespective cam, While thefeelers are actu? Vated by the patterns; means for rotating said 'drumsintimed relation te the loom;

and ymeans` for disengaging all the drums s .from allL of; said feelerssiifnultaneously.

ln combination' Withf a circular-loom tuated by said patterns; saidieele'rs having` their drum-engaging ends oiiise't so thata n pluralityof. eelers may W'orlr on each drinn;

means connected with said eelers vand said heddles kfor preventingreciprocation ot one.

or more V0i' the heddles, by displacing,I it or them from its ortheirrespective cam, While the feelers are actuated by the patterns; andmeans for rotating saiddrums in timed relation to the loom. r Y f n 5.'In combination with a` circulan loom having independent cani-operatedreciproeating hedjdles each etV which engages a Warp thread;v` aplurality of narrovvdrums; patternsattachedto said drums; a'plurality ofdrumfengaging feelers, equal to the number of Warp threads employed onAtheV loom; (l

actuated by said patterns; ksaideelershanfing:.theirAdrum-engagingendsetlset so that a pluralityot eelers may engageon each` drum meansconnected. withV said 'feelers iand said heddles fori preventing`'reciprocation. of oneorl moreof the lieddles by dis-v placingit or themfrom its or their respective` cam; while the feelers areV actuated byternsfare being attached and for attachingl them correct relation teeach other on the loom.

` rln combination with aiicircular loom having` y 'independentcani-operated reciproeating heddleseach ofivhichjengages a Warp thread;apluralityof narrow drums; patterns attachedon said drums; a pluralityof drum-engagingeelers, equal tothe number oiLWarpthreads employedontheloom, actu-l ated ".by saidpatternsgl-saidfeelers having.V

the patterns;ineans 'for rotating said drums intimed relationtothe loom;and means for l l'aligning allot said drums While'the pattheirdrinn-engaging ends o iiset so that fla; j

, plurality of' teelers may engage on each -V drum; means n connectedvwith j said feelers;

and'sa-id heddles for preventing reciprocation of one or more of theheddles, by displacing it oifthem from its or their re'- spective cam,While the eelersjare actuated by the patterns; means for rotating saiddrums in timed relation to the loom; and

said drumsA attached to slidably mounted brackets so that various sizesof drums may be employed.

7. In combination With a circular loom having independent cam-operatedreciprov eating heddles each of which engages a Warp thread; one or morenarrow drums; patterns'attached to said drums; a plurality of.

means associated With said feelers and said heddles for preventingreciprocation of one or more of said heddles, by displacing it or themfrom its or their respective cam, While the feelers are actuated by thepattern; and means for rotating said drum or drums in timedfrelation tothe'loom.

ROBERTV G. CLARK.

drum-engaging feelers actuated by said patcating heddles each of whichengages a Warp thread; a pluralityof drums; patterns attached to saiddrums; a plurality of drumengaging feelers, equal to the number of Warpthreads employed on the loom so that .no rethreading is necessary whenthe patterns are changed; actuated by said patterns; means associatedwith said eelers and said heddles for preventing reciprocating of one ormore of said heddles, by displacing it'or them from its or theirrespective cam,rvvhile the feelers are actuated by the patterns: andmeans for rotating said drums in timed relation to the loom.

9. In combination with a circular loom having `independent cam-operatedreciproeating heddles each of which engages a Warp thread; a pluralityof drums; patterns at-A tached to said drums; a plurality ofdrumengaging feelers, equal to the number of Warp threads employed ontheloom so that a continuous design may be Woven transversely of thefabric, actuatedby said patterns; means associated with said feelers andsaid heddles for preventing reciprocationof one or more of said heddles,by displacing it or them from its or ,their respective cam,

While nthe feelers are actuatedl by the pat-V Y tei-ns; and means vforrotating said drums in timed relation to the loom. Y Y

10. In combination with 'a circular loom having independent camoperatedreciprocable heddles each of which engages a Warp '.thread; one ormoredrums; patterns at,- tached on said "drum or drums, saidV patternsbeing` larger ythan the designs` reproduced V:from them; :aV pluralityof drum-em gaging eelers -actuated by said patterns;

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